Chapter 314

EP.314 The Reborn Troublemaker

Adel’s body, floating in the air, stops in the center of the room.

There wasn’t much change.

Adel had already shown signs of corruption.

But the psychological satisfaction was immense.

Especially the sense of security that Adel was now completely my retainer—that was the most important.

No matter what happens, she can never go back. She’s now my saintess with the ability to amplify magic.

This makes her the fourth rebirth after Sehwa, Yuria, and the Doctor.

Every time I see it, the sight of a hero of justice being tainted by evil is always beautiful.

Sssuuu…!

The shadow of malice that had spread throughout her body was sucked back into the demon realm.

A sign that her reversed values and body had fully adapted.

Adel’s eyes opened not long after the stabilization period arrived.

“…..”

Eyes contribute greatly to a person’s image.

Adel’s purple irises and vertically slit pupils, moving left and right, mixed with her unique cuteness, created an overwhelming charm.

The coexistence of cuteness and sensuality. Perfect.

Even the purple crystal glowing on her pure white chest… very satisfying.

After examining her body, she turned her gaze toward me.

Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke.

“Jihyuk… what is this…? My body has changed strangely…”

Hearing her usual way of addressing me, I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised.

Sehwa and Yuria, who became my retainers, naturally called me master.

The Doctor was an exception since I gave her special permission, but I didn’t set any conditions for Adel…

I approached Adel and brushed her purple hair once.

Then, I tested her.

“Is your body okay?”

“D-don’t speak so casually…! Respect me…!”

Her tone was like Adel before her corruption.

There was no sign of her becoming cold like Sehwa or Yuria.

This wasn’t wrong at all. Adel’s energy was completely in sync with mine.

Moreover, there was no trace of divine power in her body.

Not even a remnant of Rosario remained.

She was reborn, but is her will still incredibly strong?

Or is she less corrupted? That can’t be…

It was quite unexpected, but it didn’t feel bad.

In fact, it was even better since I could interact with Adel as usual.

With a gentle smile, I nodded.

“Sorry, Adel.”

Only then did Adel relax her expression and pull her hair forward.

“My hair has changed…! Is this really me…?”

“Yes. It’s proof that you’ve abandoned Rosario and come to me.”

Adel flinched.

“Rosario…! She didn’t fall to Helix, right…? It was all a lie, right…?”

“Yes. It was a lie to make you my retainer. Helix was already dead to begin with.”

Adel’s gaze turned fierce.

She glared at me as if she wanted to kill me and shouted.

“You…! Liar! You deceived me!”

Helix was something you misunderstood on your own…

And besides this, there’s more than one or two things I’ve deceived you about…

I wonder how Sehwa, Yuria, and even the Doctor would react if they knew they were my retainers.

Scratching my head, I made an excuse.

“I told you. I hid my identity to get you.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Jihyuk… You should have been honest with me…!”

“If I had been honest, I wouldn’t be here right now. I would have been purified by you, not even leaving ashes behind.”

“Even so… how could you lie to the person you love? I was always honest with you… but you kept lying to me…!”

Hmm… I feel like I’ve been caught in a trap.

Awkwardly licking my lips, I waved my hand in the air.

Ssshhhk-!

As soon as a demon portal appeared, opening its unique maw,

“Eek!”

Adel, frightened, ran behind me and hid.

Then, she looked at the portal with curious eyes.

Seeing Adel’s reaction, I realized she wasn’t truly angry with me.

She was just throwing a tantrum at me for lying to her all this time.

After calming Adel down, I smirked as Minji popped out of the portal.

“Minji has always been my retainer. From now on, she’ll take good care of you.”

Then, Minji bowed respectfully toward me and Adel.

“Congratulations, Demon King. And let me reintroduce myself to Lady Adeline. I am Marcella. I will serve Lady Adeline with my life, so please take good care of me.”

Adel seemed displeased with Minji’s reaction.

Frowning deeply, she scolded Minji.

“Priest Kim Minji! You haven’t even accumulated enough virtue yet, and you’re using the baptismal name Marcella…! This is wrong! You must reflect in the temporary temple for three days!”

“Huh…? Okay?”

Minji, confused.

But only for a moment, as she quickly understood the situation and replied.

“I apologize, Saintess.”

“Take the subject of wall penance to the tribunal. It means to prepare for conversion. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Minji bowed again and disappeared through the portal.

After confirming the portal disappeared without a trace, I comforted Adel.

“Adel, Minji’s real name is Marcella. The baptismal name is just…”

I couldn’t say it was part of a religious game.

I was afraid Adel might get upset again.

But fortunately, Adel seemed to have roughly understood the underlying truth of everything that had happened.

“I know.”

“That’s good. And now, we should dismantle that temporary temple and silence the rest of the people…”

Adel shook her head vigorously.

“You only know one thing, Jihyuk. I can see a hard road ahead of me with a husband like you.”

“…. What’s that supposed to mean…”

“You created a religion just to make me your retainer, right? But I’m different. I genuinely wanted to support you, to help you ascend to the heavens by growing the religion.”

What is she talking about?

As I kept my mouth shut, Adel continued.

“All gods have divine power, and without it, no one can ascend to the heavens. They’re blocked right at the entrance.”

Is that so? I think I get it.

“So the source of divine power is faith… That’s why you need temples and believers to gain faith.”

“Exactly. This is a rule set by Rosario. No being in the universe can escape this rule. Not even gods are exceptions.”

Sigh… I’ve crossed the big mountain called Adel, but the even bigger mountain called Rosario still stands tall.

Since Rosario created the heavens, I understand, but to enforce rules even on transcendent beings like gods… It’s absurd.

Can I really make Rosario kneel?

I might not even reach her, let alone get past the gatekeeper at the entrance to the heavens and end up dead.

Whatever the case, Rosario and I are now mortal enemies.

I corrupted Aiter, which she clearly created, and made her beloved saintess Adel fall like the first saintess.

By now, she must be furious, grinding her teeth at me.

A confrontation with me is inevitable.

So, instead of being scared, it’s important to push forward with the plan.

After tying Adel’s purple hair with a clip, I said,

“Call her Rosario, not Lady Rosario.”

“No. This is your punishment for deceiving me.”

Punishment… typical of Adel.

“Is that so?”

“Since your lies were exposed, my respect for Rosario has returned. Are you angry? Of course you are. You’ll have to work hard to win my heart back. Understood?”

Adel’s feelings are clear.

I nodded and lifted Adel into my arms.

Then, patting her butt, I walked around the room.

“How do you feel?”

“About what?”

“About becoming a demon.”

Adel buried her face in my shoulder.

Then, in a muffled voice, she replied.

“…. I hate it… It’s not great…”

She likes it. I’m proud.

“You can return to your original form. It’s just a disguise.”

“I know…”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m connected to you through my soul… I know everything… There’s nothing I don’t know…”

Then, do you know I’ve made three people, including Sehwa, my retainers?

The words almost slipped out of my throat.

She’ll find out eventually, but for now, let’s hold back.

Adel is incredibly possessive.

If I told her three women had become demons and were now my family, she’d explode in anger.

It’s better to let her adapt slowly.

It’s best to let her realize naturally… but I’ll need the Doctor’s help with this.

Except for matters related to Silvia.

“Is that so? You truly are my saintess.”

“W-why am I only your saintess?”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“…. No… it is…”

With a low laugh, I draped a coat over Adel.

Then, I left the room and headed to the lounge.

Taking a strawberry milk from the fridge, I handed it to Adel over my shoulder, but she shook her head vigorously.

She didn’t want to drink it herself but wanted me to feed her.

Following Adel’s wish, I patted her back as she clung to me and said,

“Let’s welcome Silvia as part of our family too. Understood?”

Then, Adel spat out the straw and asked,

“Is she… going to do the same as me…? Will you insert your… and inject your essence into her…?”

“Yes. That’s the plan.”

“No way… Your body is mine… No one else can have it…”

“Silvia already has my malice injected into her.”

“…. What…? What did you say…?”

“I’m sorry. I’m a greedy demon king. I’ve already mixed my body with hers multiple times.”

“Wha…!? Mixed your body multiple times…?”

Adel asked in disbelief.

Her whole body trembled, and anger-filled air seeped from her nose.

Soon, she started fuming as if she understood the situation.

Grind!

I could hear her teeth grinding over my shoulder.

“You…! Bad guy! Demon! Devil! Fraud!”

Her loud shouting made my ears ring.

She’s really angry. Didn’t you say you know everything since we’re connected by soul?

“I had no choice. Silvia was too…”

As I trailed off with a deep sigh, Adel interpreted my words on her own.

“You fell for her…! What I feared has happened…! I’m disappointed!”

“That’s not it…”

“Quiet…! Quiet! Shut your mouth! I’ll punish that harlot sister of mine, and I’ll discipline you too!”

Crunch!

After finishing her sentence, Adel bit my shoulder with strong force.

My shoulder stung so much it felt like it might break, but I endured it.

“Ahh oh…! Ahhh…”

Adel, still biting my shoulder, mumbled.

You bad guy, you’re delicious… she seemed to say.

Yeah, my blood tastes better than strawberry milk, right?

Eat a lot and calm down.

Then, let’s take down Silvia together.

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